From the Diary of a Mossad Agent (A Spy Story)

Chapter 1

December 9, 2017

       I opened the door to Gallia's house. "Erev tov, Amarise!" called Reb Taneli Itzhak. To my relief, I kept my face pleasant, as I've been taught to do.
       "Erev tov!" I shouted back. I strode down the hallway into Gallia's room, where she was waiting, smiling, with her history textbook open on her bed. I jumped onto the bed beside her and opened my own textbook. It was Friday night, and Fridays are when we usually have our weekly study session-sleepover (20% study, 80% talk).
       "Am, you have to tell me! I've been asking since you first came here. Do you like here or your old town better?" Gallia blurted out, feeling no need for formalities.
       "Fine," I relented, grinning. "I love Kiryat Shmona, but it would be much better if the people weren't so annoying." I glanced at Gallia pointedly, and she laughed, pretending to hit me with her book.
       "No, really," I continued. "It's great here. I like it just as much as Tiberius, but I do miss the sea, and the springs."
       "That's great!" Gallia replied. She beamed, hugged me, and declared "Because you're not allowed to leave!"
       Six months of friendship have gone by since I moved cities. It made me feel a small pang of guilt that I wasn't there to study with Gallia. I was there to study her family.

June 21, 2017

       I'm happy, but not ecstatic like everyone else. My friends are all overjoyed that school is almost out, and were already planning their just-out-of-reach months on the beach today. Though I also definitely enjoy the sea, I'm actually fond of school and don't find classes boring or tiresome.
       I will be joining my friends on the beach and around town this summer, but I'm going to spend time with my dad at the market too. I've been allowed to hang around and help while he works for a few years now, and despite the unpleasant smell of fish, I love the busy atmosphere of the market.
       During the summer, which is when most tourists visit Tiberius, many languages and people mix. Tourists flock here from all over to mingle among locals, but I think everyone is united by their admiration of our ancient seaside city.
       I contemplated this as I walked home from school, and as I often do, ended up too deep in my thoughts to desire to stop walking. I decided to stroll around the Old City before heading home so I could gaze once again at its beautiful sights. Old Tiberius has turned into a wonderful patchwork of time-honored artistry and newer glamor. All of this is alluring, made more so by the city's interconnection, from the hotels to the churches and synagogues and the Promenade, all leading downward toward the Sea of Galilee.
       The last place I stopped along my walk by the sea was the Promenade, where my dad works. For a few moments I halted my train of thoughts and just stood overlooking the water, relishing the sea breeze blowing my hair around my face. Being so close to the water always pulls my mind back to thoughts of accompanying my dad to fish for the market. I thought about the summer ahead of me, which already seems like it's going to be a relaxing stretch of freedom from work and schedules. With contentment on my mind, I began the short traipse back to my house.
       When I arrived home, I immediately hauled my backpack up to the roof and started to open it up. There is no better way to read than while laying in the steady sunlight with a view of everything around. I can see towering buildings downtown standing watch over sailors at sea, and closer to me, the roofs of dozens of other houses. A little farther in the distance, straight in front of me, is the water. It glistens in the light as the scales of fish do after a life lived outside of the sun's direct light.
       When I settled down on the roof, unzipped my backpack, and reached inside to grab my book, I was shocked at what I felt inside. There was an envelope placed neatly inside my backpack.